Summary of Sindhi Cuisine and a good news to share !

The work is still in progress…but I just cant wait any more to share this sweet news with you all.. a sweet moment to cherish , made me and my family feel ecstatic, came in the form of an article ‘Unfeignedly Sindhi‘ penned down by yours truly, that is published in the July Edition of the Magazine ‘ Food and Nightlife ‘.

I am thrilled to get rave reviews from the people of great caliber…..I feel obliged. Thanks everyone, for the wishes that came pouring in, all these days… its a feeling well beyond description.

The magazine is available in Mumbai and Delhi. Besides, it is available online too.

The article on Sindhi Cuisine, was published in July Issue of the magazine, on page number 14/15. Click here to read the article on the magazine website.

And for those who are unable to access the link, you can read the article in text form right here, though it is an unedited version, but then, the matter remains more or less the same.

Hope you will enjoy reading the Summary of Sindhi Cuisine. I do not claim to be an expert, when it comes to Sindhi Cuisine, so goof ups of facts, if any, be kindly ignored/ reported (Please soften your tone before lashing out..lol)/brought to notice/ mentioned in comments.

I am open to your views, suggestions, add-ons and basically any thing that you would like to share about Sindhi cuisine, it’s food history, cultural background….any thing, just anything.

Let the rest of the world have a glimpse of Sindhi Food and culture…share it here….let the Sindhi food be counted in the popular cuisines of the world.

Without further ado, lets hop over to the article…..

Unfeignedly Sindhi !

Sindhi, a culture having its roots in Sindh (Now in Pakistan), proudly belongs to ancient Indus valley civilization as discovered from the Moen-jo-Daro excavation. The culture rich, the art unbeatable, the Sufi music unmatched and the Cuisine simply invincible, at least for true blooded Sindhis !

Sindhi Cuisine , apart from having unique flavors of its own, have the unmistakable mark of other dynasties like Mughals, Arabs, Turkhans, Soomras etc that influenced Sindhi cuisine while they ruled the Province. The mighty Koftas, the scrumptious Biryanis, amazing Gosht (meat) Curries, got infused in Sindhi cuisine during that era. Post partition in 1947, Hindu Sindhis got scattered around the world, and since then, a long battle to keep ourselves rooted to our culture while simultaneously absorbing the culture of our surroundings, is being fought.

As various other cuisines of India, Sindhi cuisine is also a vibrant one , sizzling and dazzling with lots of flavors, a wonderful amalgamation of Delish sweets, perfectly tangy curries, mildly flavored gravies, rich and wholesome biryanis, wide array of seasonal vegetables, awesome variety of Flatbreads, and not to forget the world famous Sindhi Papad and Sindhi Pickles.

To begin with, a royal breakfast preferred by Sindhis, is ought to be The Dal Pakwan, the crisp fried Maida flatbreads, served with simple Chanadal, garnished with chutney and chopped onion. Apart from this, Bori(Kutti or crushed koki tempered with hot oil, and sweetened with sugar),Sindhi Koki, a wholewheat flour flatbread, kneaded with onion, chillies, dried pomegranate seeds, cumin and a generous amount of oil, double cooked on griddle ,orLolo (sweet flatbread) Dodo (Flatbread with millet flour, jowar, bajra etc), stuffed parathas with Curd are most popular.Juar (jowar) or Bhaat (crackedr wheat) porridge, are favorites of elders of the family. And bread dunked in chickpea curry called Chola dhabhalaor the two lentils cooked together calledDal moong are still the most sought after breakfasts in many Sindhi families.

Sindhis love simpleDal chaawal- subzi -roticombo.They have some popular style of cooking like Daagh (curry with browned onions), Seyal (cooking food with onions or ginger garlic as base, with little or no water), Tamatey mein (In tomato gravy), saye masaley mein (with Green base, that of coriander leaves and fresh garlic) and Dhaasvegetables (Stuffed vegetables like Okra, Apple gourds, Capsicum etc).Though seasonal vegetables, and plenty of lentils /pulses, are included in daily cooking, but when fresh vegetables are unavailable, Sindhis tend to make use of Besan, and hence Chilra (Gramflour savory pancakes), Chilra kadhi,Aani ji bhaji (Besan dumplings in Onion tomato base) are immensely popular. And not to forget a Sindhi specialty called Sindhi Kadhi , which is a tangy tamarind and gram flour based curry, flavored with some spices and Vakhar like cluster beans, okra, drumsticks etc.This is again generally made for guests and is served with hot plain boiled white rice and sweet boondi. Amritsari wadis cooked along with potatoes, is one spicy curry you cannot afford to miss, and so is Sindhi Saibahji, the yummiest concoction of spinach with fenugreek leaves, sorrel leaves, beans, potatoes, carrot, eggplant, okra, chana dal etc.

Though now paneer rules menu of marriage buffets and festival food, there was a time when Bhee (Bhein) i.e Lotus stem hold the Numero Uno position.During marriage ceremonies decades back, relatives and neighbors were offered the Bheepatata and Degh Waara chaanwara. Huge Iron or aluminum pots or containers were kept in open spaces, on logs of wood, or coal (sighri) or stove,and a generous quantity of rice and curry was cooked on it. It was called Degh. A spicy curry of lotus stem, potato, peas, cooked in the base of onions, tomatoes and eggplants, when served with Simple pulav,will make you slave of Sindhi degh . Even today this curry is cooked and distributed at Langars in various temples ,on religious occasions.

Sindhi Sanna Pakoda (Double fried Gram flour fritters) are famous as most crispy snacks, while Alu tikki, Batan papdi (A Sindhi Chaat), Mirchi Pakora, Bhein Tikki, Spinach Pakoda , are other guilty pleasures.
Sindhi Papad has a unique taste, not too spicy nor bland…just perfect. And so are the pickles…the regular oil based as well as Mustard seeds and water based pickles called as Paarianh waari Khatairnhave many loyal followers. Yet another typical Sindhi style pickle is Kadhookas(grated ), pickle made from raw shredded mangoes, seasoned with salt, turmeric, red chillies, nigella seeds,cloves of garlic, mixed and lumps of these mixture are tied in small white muslin cloth gathadis (like dumplings), pickled and enjoyed later. It’s called Gathadi aka Bheendi.

The probably only places that you could still enjoy Sindhi food are few eateries like Kailash parbat and Bhagat Tarachand , or else on the streets of Sindhi dominated areas like Ulhasnagar, Chembur, Bhopal etc.The vendors selling dal pakwan, Sindhi Patties with cholaand Dal moong are common sights at such places during early mornings.

Sadly the trend of fast food and exposure to national and international cuisine is drifting many youngsters away from the lovely Sindhi cuisine.The ‘Chips’ and ‘ french fries’ generation hardly cares for Sindhi Kheecha, papad. The biscuits and cookies overshadowed the humbleDal Nakul, that was initially offered to the guests. Mocktails and canned juices pushed into the corner, the home made Rose sherbet, chandan (sandalwood) sherbet .The artificially coloured, branded Mithai, killed the trend of sharing Maajoon, Khus khus jo seero, ladoo etc with near and dear ones. Packaged junk snacks diverted kids from the good old, pabhoree ( fresh lotus seeds), Jamun (berries) , saawa phota (fresh green peas), Dhadhri (tiny fresh green pods ) etc which used to be the after school time snacks for the kids, eons ago.

28 thoughts on “Summary of Sindhi Cuisine and a good news to share !”

Loved reading your blog and so happy to see Sindhi food being discussed and revived
We are a SINDHI food delivery kitchen in Mumbai and so glad that so many people are enjoying SINDHI cuisine
This feels so awesome… love Sindhful

i am posted at bareilly, that is 450 km away from jaipur(my native place,. by reading the blog on sindhi food, i really remember my great mother, who prepared so many sindhi recipes and great taste i have, & which are available on your blog, for remaining sindhi dishes i would like to taste.
very good article, keep it up

Alka, this is an amazing website. Am loving the recipes and can’t wait to try some of them. Just going thru them is making me miss my Nani – the world’s most amazing cook. She would have loved discussing them with me. Good job and thank you for efforts in keeping our culture alive 🙂

It was soo amazing to read this.. I felt like I went back to my childhood days….my home….lotsa people making tasty food…. U don’t know how good a job you are doing by letting people know that its one of the best cuisines in the world.
Seriously, our sindhi food is just perfect..has perfect combinations and there is nothing less.
Wish I could do something about the culture in years to come like a restuarant or something but as of now, m really touched by this article..

Way to go, Alka! I was a nut thing it was still W-I-P. Yahaan aayi to dekhti hoon ki poora revamping chal raha hai! Looks like a new rasoi but I love the contents. Am so proud of you! Keep flying, dear:).

Hi…
first time here and clicked to your link from ‘ a pinch of salt…’ .
this is a great article written passionately ……… i love all traditional food and i am so happy that bloggers like you are doing such good work to revive the traditions……..

As I had said earlier also, I’v marked it as my favourite so that I can get back to it whenever m falling short of ideas on our delectable sindhi cuisine.
And thnx a ton for binding us to our roots and letting the world know about our scrumptious delicacies.
Keep up the good work 🙂

That was a grea article. Celebrating the rich food and tradition and at the same time bemoaning the gradual loss of a culture that helped shaped a geat civillization. It is a pity, that not only the Sindhi but a lot of our ethnic foods are getting lost in the race to be modern, whatever that means. It is a good thing blogs like yours are recording and reviving these recipes for future generations.

Its grt article with lot of information ,i luv sindhi food especially sindhi kadhi and sai bhaji is one of my favourite. Wish u a gud luck for the future and waiting many more interesting recipes ………………….

You know I quickly scrolled down to the sweets section looking if you mentioned the gulab Jamun many of us were tempted to try from Sindhi Rasoi. I have tried your Koki too…Neither am I an expert to comment on food, yet I think, I am allowed to say I loved both of the dishes I have tried and would be looking up for more from here.